Carsten Beck
The Danish concrete artist Carsten Beck (b. 1986) originally worked in the fields of graphic design, illustration and photography. Though it was only in late 2019 that he started to experiment with translating his graphic sketches into oil on canvas and lithography, recognition happened almost instantly in the international art world. His works can now be seen in galleries from Milan to New York.
Geometric sections of bright colours and monumental, black-and-white works are the hallmarks of this self-taught artist, who draws inspiration from concrete art: a form of art based on a simple, non-figurative idiom and clean lines. Though the heyday of concrete art was the mid-20th century, there is something about its expression that transcends time, making it easy to revisit and adapt – year after year.
“Things do not always need to make sense or depict something. It is all about the composition and the balance between black and white – from the layering of colours to the placement of the shapes. The symmetrical and asymmetrical aspects must be in order from the start. It is difficult to make something simple look interesting. It is that challenge I find so exciting.”
– Carsten Beck
